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Before having my daughter I worked as a professional pastry chef. I served hundreds of customers desserts each night. Desserts that I developed, tested and executed. I was a bundle of nerves on nights that a food critic was dining with us, or during the first few days serving a new menu. However none of that nervous energy can compare to the first few times I made dinner and dessert for my father.

My father is an incredible cook. He is an instinctive cook. I can explain the scientific basis of most cooking and baking techniques. How to manipulate the molecular components of ingredients to produce the desired result. My father can tell you what that feels like, what it smells like, what it sounds like. This used to be intimidating. As the years have gone on, I have become more sure and cooking with my father is something that I treasure. We work well together, I learn something new every single time and once in a while I am able to pass on a tip or trick to him.

When we were in Crescent we cooked lots of meals together, but our biggest collaboration was a meal to welcome my aunt to the beach. Dad broke down the fish, halibut and salmon. He pan seared the halibut after coating it in panko and he cooked the salmon under the broiler until it was medium rare. I made a tomato-caper jam to top the fish, a panzanella salad loaded with beautiful vegetables, some roasted, some raw. And sautéed carrots and green beans. My grandmother made a blueberry pie. A pie that she has been making for as long I can remember. A pie that deserves it’s own post. Every bite of the meal was a love song to the pacific northwest, to summer and to family.

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Nancy’s daughter and Leo’s aunt Ashley is expecting a little one this summer. This cake has a lot of firsts: my first stacked cake, my first time making fondant flowers, my first fondant covered Rice Krispie treat figures. The cake is based loosely on the nursery bedding – a charming quilted pattern of owls and […]

My birthday was almost a month ago. 30 days to celebrate turning 30. Every weekend for the past 4 weeks or so has had a portion of a day dedicated to celebrating with different friends and family, in Cayman and here in Philadelphia. Dinners, balloons and champagne. A gloriously massive chocolate cake with chocolate […]

This cake was for one of my favorite friends. The incredibly chic mom of the coolest kid in Philadelphia. Lemon Ricotta Cake with Lemon Curd and Vanilla Buttercream. The cake is based on Giada De Laurentiis’ Orange Ricotta Pound Cake.

I have a confession: I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars movies. I don’t really know why. We watched a lot of musicals in our house. Is that an explanation or just another strange confession? Couple that fact with the reality that this was my first large custom cookie order and I had a […]

This buttercream served as the filling and topping for the Obey Giant Cake post from earlier today. My Mom has been marching around my mind lately, in addition to adoring chickpeas, she love, love, loves chocolate malt balls. I should just call this recipe Lori’s Buttercream. The addition of crushed chocolate malt balls seals the […]